Chapter 3 – Truce

After their toast to Non's arrogance, Alex fell silent again.

"What other lucky breaks were there?" Cat gently prompted.

"Well, while Non's troops were in stasis, he and Indigo waited for Kara to try and stop them. Fortunately, there was another alien who evened the odds and helped Kara defeat them. But that's were the luck ran out. He was seriously injured and Indigo had locked down all of the controls, leaving Kara to figure out how to deal with the signal without being able to shut it off or use Fort Rozz's engines to get it away from Earth," Alex said, finishing her drink.

"She contacted me with her plan," Alex said, fiddling with the pendant she wore.

"I . . . I tried to talk her out of flying the ship into space. She wouldn't have air . . . or the ability to fly back. But she was right; we were out of time and it was the only way," Alex said, and forced out a heavy breath as tears fell. She sloppily wiped them and sniffed, then poured herself another drink.

Cat shook her head, her own eyes moistening as she tried to imagine how Kara must have felt, bearing the enormous responsibility of protecting all humans. And how Alex must have felt, having no better plan for her sister.

"She managed to get the million-ton ship into space but it may have cost her her life," Alex said, her hand returning to worry at the pendant. "She is now on life support, in a coma. There is still some brain activity but . . . we haven't seen any improvement," Alex said, wiping more tears from her face.

She lifted the pendant to show Cat. "She gave me this, her mother's pendant. Maybe you were right that she knew there was a good chance that something like this would happen," Alex said, watching Cat curiously inspect the neckless from a respectful distance.

"W . . . Won't her powers eventually kick in and heal her?" Cat asked, trying to digest the troubling situation.

"We don't know," Alex said painfully, wishing she did. "She had blown out her powers from much less exertion before . . . and to be without powers, stuck in space? We have no reference point for that," Alex said with irritation, rubbing her red eyes.

Cat shut her eyes and took a quick, centering breath.

"But she came back. Alive," Cat stated firmly, looking at Alex, who nodded reluctantly. "How?"

"I got her, using the ship she came in. But it took me two goddamn hours to figure it out!" Alex spat, taking another healthy sip.

Cat stared at her in disbelief. "You can not seriously be angry with yourself that it took you two hours, a mere 120 minutes, to learn how to fly an alien craft and rescue her without getting yourself killed," Cat scoffed as Alex scratched the back of her neck, still feeling she should have done better. "Good GOD, Alex. You got her! How many people could have done what you did? It wasn't Superman who brought her home - it was you," Cat declared, annoyed at Alex's ridiculously misplaced guilt.

Alex looked down at her glass, still wishing for a faster rescue.

"She could still die, Cat," Alex said gravely.

"But," Cat said firmly. "If she has survived for five days, after that extraordinary trauma, doesn't it stand to reason that she's healing?" Cat challenged, knowing it was better if they kept positive. She had Kara to blame for adopting that annoyingly sappy philosophy.

Alex just looked at her silently.

"Kara is nothing, if not stubborn," Cat added.

"That she is," Alex agreed, then fell silent which lasted several long moments.

"So . . . ," Cat finally spoke. "Let me guess, you got kicked out of wherever she's recovering," she said knowingly, sipping her drink.

"Yup," Alex said, finishing another drink, then eyed her. "You hungry?"

"Uh," Cat blurted with surprise, glad Alex was still willing to talk with her. "I could eat something," she allowed.

"I'm thinking of a meat-lovers pizza. That okay with you?" Alex asked.

"Well, I don't usually try to consume a month's worth of calories in one sitting, but I think this occasion warrants a deviation in my diet," Cat sniffed.

"Okaaay. So that's a yes to a meat-lovers?" Alex asked, fuzzy from alcohol and exhaustion.

"Yes, Alex. I would be delighted to share a heart-clogging slice with you," Cat said, rolling her eyes. Noticing Alex stare at her, Cat sighed. "Go order the meat-lovers pizza, Alex," Cat commanded firmly, getting a small smile and a nod of understanding.

Getting up from the couch to stretch her legs as Alex ordered the pizza, Cat noticed a wall of photographs that drew her in, family pictures. She saw the sisters, who were about fifteen or so. She sighed sadly when she looked at young Kara, who, in spite of already having experienced more loss than anyone should have to experience, still managed a genuinely happy smile.

After ordering, Alex returned to Cat's side. "I really didn't appreciate how brave she was at first," Alex admitted, looking at the picture of smiling teens. "I really didn't appreciate her at first," she continued. "But she was annoyingly . . . persistent," she noted wryly, making Cat smirk. "And somehow she managed to . . . ," Alex said, glancing at Cat, who interjected knowingly, "… get past your walls."

"Now, I can't imagine my life without her," Alex admitted tightly, echoing Cat's thoughts. "She's made me look at things with a new perspective. She was fascinated about everything that I took for granted – like our flora and fauna. She happily told me what she had learned, like owls meant a bad omen for some cultures but great wisdom in others. And she was beyond ecstatic when she informed me there are at least 10,000 species of birds on Earth," Alex said with a small smile, shaking her head at the happy memories. "But she was also annoyed we had not yet figured out the exact number," she chuckled softly. "And trust me, you don't ever want to start a conversation with her on our lack of progress on exploring our oceans!"

Noting Cat's curious look, Alex added, "Besides Earth being more biologically diverse than Krypton, or any planet she had ever visited, Kryptonian animals were becoming extinct and vegetation was declining as their planet started to die."

Cat shook her head slightly, trying to imagine the decline of a planet before its imminent death. "I've always wondered what Krypton was like."

"It was surreal," Alex said thoughtfully, gaining an odd look from Cat.

"You have pictures of Krypton?" Cat asked with great interest, eager to learn more about Kara's home and excited to possibly see it.

"Well, Kara painted that one," Alex pointed to the canvas hanging in her living room.

Cat looked at her with surprise and strode curiously to the painting, which indeed had "Kara" at the bottom right of the picture, which was beautifully haunting. "It's magnificent," she exhaled in appreciation.

"She captured it perfectly," Alex said, wishing she could have actually visited Kara there, instead of battling a lift-threatening parasitic plant in Kara's mind.

"So there are pictures?" Cat asked hopefully.

"Uh . . . I don't know about pictures," Alex said hesitantly, briefly wondering if they missed finding them in Kara's pod somehow. Shaking off that stray thought, she explained "I got to see Krypton . . . through Kara's eyes," she admitted, noting Cat's intense and clear curiosity, which made her once again question her sanity for talking with the Queen of all Media about Kara.

"Alex," Cat said softly, seeing the worry and doubt fill Alex's face. Instead of asking the multitude of questions she had about that fascinating comment, she knew it was more important to try and put Alex's mind at ease. "You must know by now, I have no intention of writing about Kara or her home without her agreement."

"So you want to write a story," Alex accused sharply.

"Of course I do," Cat blurted easily, rolling her eyes at the obvious.

Realizing her comment would not lend itself to easing Alex's worry or annoyance, Cat explained herself with genuine passion.

"The people of Earth should know what Supergirl has done for them. They should know that in spite of what she has personally gone through, she remains positive and inspirational and giving . . . giving us far more than we could ever hope to give her. She is an example to us all," Cat said with a conviction that Alex could not argue with.

"But I also know that Kara Danvers finds comfort in being . . . ," Cat said, searching for the right words as 'normal' wasn't right. ". . . like one of us," she finished thoughtfully. "I'm sure you know that I threatened her job when I confronted her about being Supergirl," she admitted with regret, glancing at Alex, who silently nodded, remembering what a pain in the ass that was.

"I thought I knew better, that she should be Supergirl full-time. I never considered what she needed. God! How arrogant was I to push her like that?" Cat said with honest irritation, surprising Alex. "No one, not even a Kryptonian, should be expected to be a hero full-time," she said, shaking her head. "She does so much for us already; I shouldn't have had the ridiculous expectation that she should do more. And yet . . . she did, didn't she?" Cat said uneasily, knowing Kara was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Her life.

Alex nodded again, looking into the bottom of her once-again empty glass.

"I promise you, I will never put Kara in a position like that ever again," Cat said solemnly, looking directly into Alex's eyes. "I know she needs time for herself . . . to be like everyone else."

"Thank you. For understanding . . . and caring that much," Alex said softly.

"Nonsense," Cat said dismissively, with a weak wave of her hand as she turned back to the amazing painting. "Getting people to care for her, I am convinced, is just another one of her super powers. It's not like we really have a choice," Cat said with a shrug.

Alex smirked.

The doorbell rang. "Pizza!" Alex cheered and went to the door.

Cat shook her head with mild amusement; Alex and Kara may not be blood, but they were definitely sisters.

SGSG

Alex handed a glass of water to Cat, who was seated at the kitchen counter with a plate and box of pizza in front of her. Pouring herself another scotch, she joined the Media Mogul.

"Kara spent 24 years in the phantom zone as a . . . child?" Cat asked uneasily, with a frown at the lonely prospect, that would have been difficult for any adult, let alone a child.

Alex sipped her drink. "Yeah. She said she was in and out of consciousness. Even though time doesn't really pass there, it had to be terrifying for a 12 year old. She's shared some stories of Krypton with me but she doesn't talk about the phantom zone," Alex said with irritation.

"I suppose she wanted to spare you worry. That idiot," Cat grumbled, surprising Alex. "Please, I spend a lot of money to hear, repeatedly, that talking through your problems is a healthy thing," Cat explained dismissively.

Alex snorted, certain that Cat's therapy sessions were very interesting. She eyed Cat curiously when she picked up a knife and fork to cut a very small piece. Most people would just use their hands, but then, Cat Grant wasn't most people, she considered, having also noticed Cat inspecting her fork and knife for cleanliness before using them.

"Well, I think she's always afraid of being a burden," Alex relayed and took a bite of pizza.

Cat's fork never made it to her mouth. For Kara, who had been through so much, to feel like she was a burden, disturbed and saddened Cat more than she would care to admit.

"In her job interview," Cat said softly, lowering her fork to her plate. "Kara told me she wanted to be useful and worthwhile, which I knew was the truth. Then she had the audacity tell me she was normal and nothing special, and I just knew that was not true," Cat said reflectively, somehow knowing the incredibly young "millennial" was intriguingly different. "But I could not fathom how someone trying to get a job with me could be so insistent that they were ordinary."

"Well . . . we did strongly encourage her to fit in and live like the rest of us," Alex offered, wiping her lips with a napkin. "Dad said the world already had Superman."

Cat looked at her sharply, trying to tamp down her annoyance at what sounded like blatant misogyny.

"You know there are people, powerful people, who don't like aliens . . . ," Alex defended, getting a sigh and irritated nod as Maxwell Lord and Lex Luthor came to mind. "When she was here for about eight months, Kara risked exposure when she saved a mom and her baby that had been in a bad car accident," Alex said with mixed emotions.

"Even then," Cat said with a small smile, imagining a young, heroic Kara. A true super girl.

Alex nodded uncomfortably with a shrug. "Dad sat her down and told her they could only explain her heroics on luck and adrenalin once, but she had to curb her actions so she wouldn't be found out."

"That must have been difficult for her," Cat offered thoughtfully, confident Kara must have struggled with guilt every time she knew she could help, but didn't.

"Yeah," Alex acknowledged, then admitted, "A few months later, I royally screwed up by letting her talk me into going flying with her." Alex's frown faded as she offered wistfully, "Though, it wasn't that hard to convince me - flying with her is incredible."

Cat shifted uncomfortably, remembering the two surprising and decidedly terrifying times she "flew" with Kara. The first was when her car was unexpectedly hoisted up and taken to a mountain top for her first interview with the new hero. The second was after being tossed off her CATCO balcony, then caught by the mind-altered young woman.

"But it was incredibly stupid," Alex said guiltily as the happy memory was replaced by a frightening one. "The government agency that my parents feared would would come for her, came to our home to take Kara away . . . for "her protection," which we knew meant she'd be their guinea pig," Alex said tersely.

Cat sucked in an indignant breath. "They wanted to take a child?!"

"Yeah. The bastards wanted to take a 13 year-old, who had lost her planet and family, away from her foster family she had just started to get used to, "for her protection." But my Dad offered to work for them instead," Alex said bitterly.

"Where the hell was Superman?" Cat spat.

Alex shook her head with disgust and gulped her drink. "Not there. And they took Dad's offer."

"No offense, but why would the government choose him over Kara?"

"He was the leading expert in . . . alien technology," Alex hedged uncomfortably. "And I suppose," she said, pausing a thoughtful moment. "I suppose they also thought it probably better to not overtly make an enemy of Superman. Dad was away a lot after that, then went missing," she carefully added and took another sip of scotch. "They reported he was killed in action."

After a silent moment, Cat said, "I'm sorry."

Alex shrugged, taking another sip.

"I'm surprised you don't hate Kara," Cat probed softly, still missing her own father tremendously after all these years.

"We both know it is impossible to hate Kara," Alex quickly responded.

"True," Cat had to admit. "But it had to be hard for you to accept her and the deal your father made to save her."

"It . . . was. Kara invaded my home and everything changed . . . God I hated that!" she admitted tearfully.

Cat threw caution to the wind and took Alex's hand in hers and squeezed it. "You were a child yourself, Alex. You had a very normal reaction to an extraordinary situation," she said sincerely.

Alex sighed, hearing but not fully believing she couldn't have been better. "I . . . I tried to help her," Alex offered, silently cursing the tears that were determined to fall. "Mom always told me it was my job to take care of her when she couldn't and to keep Kara safe and out of trouble."

"You must have done something right. With how she has been able to do everything she has? I would say you have done a wonderful job of taking care of her," Cat offered.

"Until it really counted," Alex growled, pulling her hand back. "She was stuck in space for two hours, Cat. Two goddamn hours!"

"Alex Danvers, ENOUGH!" Cat snapped, startling Alex. "You feel guilty for not saving Kara from space sooner? Go ahead, be an idiot. But YOU were the one who saved her when no one else stepped up. YOU gave her a chance to live!"

Before Alex could argue, her cellphone rang. Clumsily jumping up to get it, she almost fell face-first onto the floor had it not been for Cat's quick reflexes - reflexes that were honed thanks to her frequent clubbing with Lois Lane in their early Metropolis years.

"Sit! I'll get it," Cat commanded as she pushed a compliant Alex back into her seat.

Quickly retrieving Alex's phone from its charger and handing it to her, Cat rolled her eyes when Alex almost dropped it.

Alex cleared her throat and firmly answered "Danvers."